The present invention relates to a roof that can be retracted into the trunk of a vehicle in order to convert it into a cabriolet.
Vehicles are known equipped with a roof that can be retracted into the trunk of a vehicle, comprising a front element connected in an articulated fashion to a rear element, these two elements being able to move between a position in which they cover the passenger compartment of the vehicle and a position in which they are folded in the trunk.
Such a retractable roof is described for example in the French patent 97 02 024 in the name of the Applicant.
The vehicle described in the aforementioned patent comprises, between the rear seat of its passenger compartment and the rear edge of the rear element, a rear surface which can tilt in order to release an opening opening out into the trunk to allow passage of the two roof elements.
However, this pivoting rear surface can under no circumstances release the lateral parts situated on each side of this rear surface to allow passage of the arms which control the movement of the two elements of the roof towards the trunk and conversely the movement thereof towards the position in which they cover the passenger compartment.
The aim of the present invention is to remedy the above drawback.
According to the invention, the retractable roof is characterised in that, beyond each lateral edge of the rear surface there is provided a cover, referred to hereafter as an obturator, able to pivot on an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle between a position in which each obturator is situated in line with the rear surface and a position in which each obturator releases a passage towards the trunk.
The openings thus released allow passage of the pivoting arms which control the movement of the roof elements towards the trunk and vice-versa.
According to a preferred invention, the retractable roof comprises means for simultaneously controlling the tilting of the rear surface on an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and the tilting of each obturator on an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
Preferably the said means are arranged to control the tilting of the rear surface towards the inside and towards the front of the trunk and the tilting of the obturators towards the outside under the rear wings of the vehicle.
Other particularities and advantages of the invention will also emerge from the following description.